Devina Seram, International Journal of Advances in Agricultural Science and Technology, Vol.6 Issue.6, June-2019, pg. 54-61 ISSN: 2348-1358 Impact Factor: 6.057 NAAS Rating: 3.77 Feasibility and Prospects of Robotics in Agriculture: A Review Devina Seram Department of Agricultural Entomology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore E-mail- [email protected] Abstract Achievement of a sustained and equitable development is the main goal of any production and planning system. To keep up with the increasing human population and with the available arable lands, more food production will have to be achieved over the next 50 years. Agriculture and its allied sectors depend simultaneously on both the exploitation and conservation of natural resources. Their impacts on the environment need to be reduced such that it can continue to develop sustainable production systems. However, this is rarely achieved. In most of the hilly areas of developing countries, the resources essential to these sectors are threatened by rapid population growth, extreme poverty, loss of biodiversity, pollution of air and water, soil toxicity. In western countries, the adoption of robotics technology has already initiated. In future agricultural scenario, it is envisaged that this new and latest technology holds the key to new farming systems to increase yields and generate income while improving sustainability. Swarm of robots have the characteristics of being simplistic and low cost, so that they can be manufactured and deployed in mass without being overly concerned about their survivability. It is a growing industry being put to use in creative ways. The concept has been around for decades, but groups of small robots working in teams to complete tasks have come in handy on the conservation, sustainability and agricultural front. envisage Keywords: Robotics, agriculture, sustainability, technology, farming 1. Introduction Agriculture and its allied sectors are one of the most important industries worldwide along with the Information Technology and Business Enterprises. Agriculture not only provide food, feed and fuel necessary for human survival but also serve as an occupation for one-third of the world’s population. With the global population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050 (UN, 2004), the production in agricultural, horticultural and other sectors must double to meet the increasing demand given our current food consumption habits and supply chain practices and at the same time, achieve sustainability. This increasing trend and climate change also limits the arable land in the global front and therefore productivity must increase up to 25% at least to help meet this goal. The World Development Strategy (IUCN, 1980) emphasized the idea that development and environment must be integrated to 'discharge our responsibilities as trustees of natural resources for the generations to come'. Sustainable Development (SD) is development that 'meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs' (WCED, 1987). According to the Global Biodiversity Strategy (WRI/IUCN/UNEP, 1992), the desired future is one where the entire landscape is being managed to conserve biodiversity, and where biological resources are used sustainably for the benefit of current and future generations. Approximately one-third of the earth’s surface area is in agricultural and horticultural use, and their shares in use of water are more than two-thirds. Selections and solutions in agriculture and horticulture have a long reaching significance with regard to the well being of people, animals and the environment. New research knowledge is of crucial importance in using natural resources in sustainable manner and in preparing to face future challenges with a trusting mind (DAS, 2011). Changes in diet in developing economies, constraints on land allocated to agriculture, high cost water and energy, plus environmental concerns and climate change are some of the key challenging factors. According to FAO (1989), build-up of crop diseases and pests also makes the agricultural and allied system unsustainable. In the highly commercial and/or monoculture farming areas such as the hilly terrains of the sub-Himalayan regions, due to reduction in crop diversity and replacement of © 2019, IJAAST All Rights Reserved, www.ijaast.com 54 Devina Seram, International Journal of Advances in Agricultural Science and Technology, Vol.6 Issue.6, June-2019, pg. 54-61 ISSN: 2348-1358 Impact Factor: 6.057 NAAS Rating: 3.77 traditional disease resistant crop varieties by a few exotic varieties and due to cultivation of the same annual crop cycle year after year, incidences of crop diseases and attack by insects/pests have increased, thereby necessitating the use of insecticides, pesticides and other hazardous chemicals in a big way. The expenditure on plant protection chemicals was worth Rs. 2689 and Rs. 422 per ha respectively in the fruit-based and vegetable-based farming systems of Himachal Pradesh, whereas, it was worth only Rs. 3 per ha in the traditional farming system (Jagdish and Wolfgang, 1997). In the absence of adequate plant protection measures, the yield and profitability of fruits and vegetable-based farming systems would become very low and uncertain. To address these issues, there is a need for an increased quality of produce and exploitation of premium and niche markets; an increased robustness of crops to deal with climate variability; the development and adoption of new technologies and policies leading to sustainable practices; and an increase in investment in R&D and education in agriculture. This review article looks into the adoption of new robotic technology and its future applications in agricultural and horticultural systems as a tool that could enable a transformation of practices in field and crop management leading to a significant, economical, environmental, and social impact. Robotics is transforming current practices in industries such as mining and manufacturing. Following this trend, considering the current research & development activities worldwide, it is envisaged that this technology will soon also have a significant impact on agricultural and allied sector practices. It also discusses the enabling factors and barriers for the uptake of this technology. Moreover, this paper is an attempt at exploring the concepts for the role of robotics in sustainable development. It is an exciting challenge where research and industry in both developed and developing countries can equally contribute and benefit. 2. Robotics at the future of modern farming Agriculture is a big data problem without the big data. In conventional agricultural farming, nearly half of the inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, etc.) are typically wasted since they are applied in greater amount than needed or in the wrong place (between rows rather than on plants themselves). That is considered unavoidable, due to the nature of spray application or the need to avoid under-use of water and chemicals, which can be catastrophic, from disease outbreak to total crop loss. Mowing grass, spraying pesticides and monitoring crops for example, instead of regularly dousing an entire apple orchard with chemicals, towed sensors find diseases or parasites with infrared sensors and cameras, and spray only the affected trees. Commercial farms of the future may be staffed by robots that will identify, spray and pick individual pieces of produce from plants, even when their targets are grapes, peppers and apples that are as green as the leaves that surround them (Behzad, 2012). Harvesting is the most labour-intensive activity for many crops, but even advocates say that no one has built a machine that comes close to matching the sensory motor control of humans. That is poised to change as sensors and software becomes cheaper and more advanced (Anonymous, 2003). As scientists in Israel and Europe get closer to this goal, experts say the work has a number of potential benefits. For instance, autonomous agricultural robots could protect human workers from the harmful effects of handling chemicals by hand. And through a system of highly selective spraying, robots could reduce a farm's use of pesticides by up to 80 percent (Behzad, 2012). Robots could also offer a timely supply of labour in many places, where there are not enough temporary workers available at the right times in the harvesting cycle. Moreover, crop-tending robots that uses vision systems, laser sensors, satellite positioning and instruments to measure things like humidity can build up a database of information about each plant (TEN, 2009). The use of robots in crop scouting will help to collect timely and accurate information which serves as one of the main operations within good crop management. Quantified data has tended to be expensive and sampling costs can quickly out weigh the benefits of spatially variable management. A high clearance platform is needed to carry instruments above the crop canopy and utilize GPS (Behzad, 2012). Controlled crop management and biodiversity is an opportunity that could be realized with robotic weeding where non- competitive weeds can be left to grow when they are at a distance from the crop. Agribots An agricultural robot or agribot is a robot deployed for agricultural purposes. The main area of application of robots in agriculture/horticulture is at the harvesting stage. Fruit picking robots, driverless tractor/sprayer, and sheep shearing robots are designed to replace human labour. The agricultural industry is © 2019, IJAAST All Rights Reserved, www.ijaast.com 55 Devina Seram, International Journal of Advances in Agricultural Science and Technology, Vol.6 Issue.6, June-2019, pg. 54-61 ISSN: 2348-1358 Impact Factor: 6.057 NAAS Rating: 3.77 behind other complementary industries in using robots because the sort of jobs involved in agriculture are not straightforward, and many repetitive tasks are not exactly the same every time. In most cases, a lot of factors have to be considered (e.g., the size and colour of the fruit to be picked) before the commencement of a task.